Bedford is receiving $585,766 of the $8 million in federal funds the state is providing in the latest round of reimbursements to communities for Superstorm Sandy cleanup costs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today. Winds from Sandy caused downed trees and branches in roads, public parks and rights-of way throughout the town, which used municipal labor and contracted labor to remove about 22,707 cubic yards of tree and vegetative debris.

Reimbursements are part of an ongoing program to assist municipaliteis affected by last October’s storm. Municipalities are being reimbursed for a variety of projects that include demolition, construction, removal of sand and vegetative debris, evacuations, inspections and other work.

“Superstorm Sandy left severe widespread damage across communities that were in its path,” Cuomo said in a statement. “The impact was both physical and financial. Localities had to respond quickly after the storm to clean up the destruction and debris left behind, and the costs of doing so were overwhelming. As we continue to recover and rebuild, I am pleased to be able to direct these critical federal funds to reimburse those impacted by the storm.”

Cara Matthews is a member of The Journal News' Tax Team. She has worked as an Albany correspondent and she covered Putnam County government and politics. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them.